Pistachio crusted chicken breast

Pistachio crusted chicken breast on lime and olive oil quinoa fusilli topped with bits of dried tomatoes is a nice crunchy bite for any pistachio lovers. Making a crust with nuts is always a winning recipe, especially with those salty, precious pistachios. The hardest in this recipe is to crack open all those pistachios, the rest is candy. The crunchy texture in dishes is always a plus, imagine a roasted chicken without the crunchy skin, a soft bacon strip or even a simple smoochy toast, this crispy, crunchy texture is always a good attribute to any dish, but not always possible to reach and often unhealthy (battered fried chicken). This pistachio crust is oven baked and filled with flavors, if you want to kick your next chicken breast recipe up a notch this is the way.

Let’s talk pistachios, I know what you are thinking… “pistachios are filled with fat”, and yes it’s true, there’s a good amount of fat in them, but the good kind that lowers the bad cholesterol LDL and raise the good kind HDL, which is a good thing for your heart. In other words, way healthier then battered and fried chicken. Pistachios are rich in antioxidant, vitamin E and essential minerals and yes, it’s a pricy nut, but it’s worth it.

This recipe could be serve on pasta, couscous, salad, etc. it’s up to you. I thought a simple quinoa fusilli with a touch of olive oil and lime would do the trick, and the extra dried tomato to make it extra mediterranean flavored. So again… faithful to my adopted home, it’s a mediterranean style dish, but a more eastern side of the sea, since pistachios are abundant over there.